Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. asked a federal judge to
allow prosecutors to discuss with outside lawyers and
consultants documents AT&T Inc. gave the Federal Communications
Commission to support its proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA Inc.

The Justice Department said in a court filing today that
the ability to discuss material would let it better respond to
AT&T’s claims about the benefits of the proposed $39 billion
deal during a trial of the government’s antitrust case.

“The FCC already permits outside lawyers and consultants
to review defendant’s FCC filings,” the Justice Department
argued. Being able to discuss the material with some of those
lawyers “would not increase the pool of those who have the
ability to access defendant’s models.”

The Justice Department subpoenaed the same documents in its
preparation for the trial, which is scheduled to start Feb. 13.
The request places “no additional burden” on AT&T, the
government said in the filing.

The Justice Department sued Dallas-based AT&T and Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile unit on Aug. 31, saying a
combination of the two companies would “substantially” reduce
competition. The merger would make AT&T the biggest U.S.
wireless carrier,.

The FCC, which must rule on whether the transfer of
spectrum licenses from T-Mobile to AT&T serves the public
interest, is still reviewing the transaction.

The case is company reveals its own. The U.S. is seeking
simultaneous
disclosure of final witness lists on Jan. 22.

The Justice Department sued AT&T and Bonn-based Deutsche
Telekom AG’s T-Mobile unit on Aug. 31, saying a combination of
the two companies would “substantially” reduce competition.
Seven states and Puerto Rico joined the effort to block the
deal, which would make AT&T the biggest U.S. wireless carrier.

AT&T is also defending against private antitrust lawsuits
objecting to the deal filed by Sprint Nextel Corp. and Cellular
South Inc. Huvelle hasn’t decided when those cases will be
tried.

The case is U.S. v. AT&T Inc., 11-cv-01560, U.S. District
Court, District of Columbia (Washington).